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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 0569.PDF
UTILITY AIRCRAFT DIRECTORY over the design, changing to Allison 250 turboprops. The basic nine-passenger aircraft has fixed tricycle landing gear and a sliding passenger/cargo door, with retractable gear and a swing-tail rear fuselage as options. The success story of recent years has been Cessna's trend-setting Caravan I turbine single, first flown in December 1982 and with 250 sold to fast-package carrier Federal Ex press alone, which has 100 more on option. The basic Cessna 208, available in fixed- gear landplane, floatplane and amphibian versions, can seat up to 14 or carry up to 1,360kg of cargo. Ordered by FedEx, the all- cargo 208A has an increased 3,630kg maxi mum take-off weight while the 208B, devel oped specifically for the fast-package carrier, has an increased 1,585kg payload and 12.7m3 cargo capacity in a stretched airframe and underfuselage pod. Recent changes include introduction of a more-powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114/3 turboprop, which will recover 136kg of a 227kg weight penalty that FedEx suffers when flying the 208B Cargomaster into known icing conditions. Although carrying the same family name, the Caravan II turbine twin developed by France's Reims Aviation from Cessna's 400 series has little in common with the Caravan I—except that it, too, is aimed at the utility market. Powered by two PT6As, the Reims- Cessna Caravan II can carry 12 passengers or some 1.5t of cargo. Recognising the market for high-capacity turbine singles exploited by Cessna's Caravan I, Pilatus has launched development of the PC-12, which it describes as "a King Air with one engine". Design of a turbine single with a maximum take-off weight of 4,000kg is made • possible, says Pilatus, by the extra power available from the demonstrably reliable PT6A turboprop which, in the PC-12, pro duces 895kW. Potential PC-12 applications range from high-density commuter to fast-package freighter and include what Pilatus describes as a "corporate combi", flying high-value personnel and cargo in a mixed four-passen- ger/6m3-freight configuration. The 'basic design includes forward passenger and aft cargo doors for simultaneous loading and unloading and fast turnaround. Pressurisa- tion, retractable gear and clean aerodynamics are designed to give higher cruise speeds than the competing Cessna Caravan I. With launch orders for at least 18 aircraft from PC-6 operator Zimex Aviation and other customers, Pilatus plans to fly the PC- 12 in December this year. Parent company Oerlikon-Biihrle requires Pilatus to find risk- sharing partners to contribute up to half the development cost, however, and negotiations continue with potential collaborators. Utility takes on • new meaning with an amphibian such as the Claudius Dornier Seastar, capable of operating from land or water. First flown in April 1984 and later redesigned to fly as the all-composite CD2 Seastar in April 1987, this 12-passenger twin- turbine was on the verge of certification late last year when Claudius Dornier went bank rupt. With a rescue apparently arranged and launch orders to fulfil, however, Seastar looks to be back on target for the estimated 250 sales projected by its designers. With de Havilland Canada's rugged Twin Otter now out of production, China sees a good market for its unpretentious Harbin Y-12 17-seat twin-turbine—if it can gain Western certification. Built to FAR Part 23 weight to the Saab 340 at almost 13,000kg. For most of the aircraft in this class the primary design role is that of the regional airliner with between 19 and 34 seats, but still with the flexibility for other missions. Embraer's EMB-110 Bandeirante first flew in October 1968 and so far some 500 have been built. Introduced in 1983, the current P1A production model has an increased take off weight and quick-change 18-seat cabin option enabling the aircraft to carry 1,700kg of cargo. regulations and powered by PT6A turbo- props, the Y-12 has yet to gain that elusive stamp of approval, however. This has not hindered sales within China or to initial export customers not requiring Western cer tification, such as Sri Lanka, since the present Y-12 II flew in August 1984. At the top of this weight class sits Beech's King Air 200, an aircraft which flew in October 1972, the present B200 being intro duced in March 1981. The PT6A-powered twin-turbine is available as the B200C with 1.32m-square cargo door or the B200CT with cargo door and range-extending tip tanks. Although the B200 is the main King Air version suitable for utility use, it should be noted that the 300 is available at a 6,350kg take-off weight and the new 350 at 6,800kg, as well as the stretched 19-seat Beech 1900C airliner (with cargo door) at 7,530kg. UP TO 13,600kg This weight group ranges from the Embraer Bandeirante at 5,900kg maximum take-off Let's L-410 Turbolet is similar in concept to the Embraer aircraft, but with a high wing and two Motorlet M601 turboprops in place of the Bandeirante's PT6A-carrying low wing. Let built almost 500 of the UVP version before introducing the current, improved UVP-E with 6,400kg maximum take-off weight. Available in a range of configurations from 19-seat all-passenger to l,615kg-pay- load all-cargo, some 250 L-410UVP-Es have so far been built by the Czechoslovakian manufacturer. Another Eastern European aircraft' is the Soviet-designed, Polish-built PZL Meilec An-28, an enlarged, turboprop-powered ver sion of the Antonov An-14 that first flew in 1969, but was not certificated until 1986. The aircraft can carry 17 passengers or 2,000kg of cargo loaded through clamshell doors. The benefits of Western certification are ably demonstrated by Dornier's 228, which has sold widely around the world and is being produced under licence in India. First flown in March 1981, the 228 is available in two basic versions: the 15-passenger -100 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 28 February-6 March 1990 «
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